It's About Time
by Bimadabomi
Summary: Post-series. Are any of us really going to believe that Sam and Diane never ended up together?


**Wow, it's been over a decade since I wrote anything for** _ **Cheers**_ **, but my love for Sam and Diane is in full force after re-watching seasons 1-5. This is a little something I wrote after thinking about Sam and Diane's tragic ending (for the umpteenth time) the other day. Who's to say they never ended up together? With those two, I wouldn't put it past them. I don't think I've ever seen the** _ **Fraiser**_ **episodes where Sam and Diane appear (maybe I've seen Diane's), but I tried to take those into account. This would take place after those, and a little more so say – 1998-ish.**

When he had been engaged to Diane, there was one thing that worried Sam: would he be able to be a husband? A _good_ husband? Was Mayday Malone _really_ a one woman kind of man? He'd never cheated on her, or anyone, actually. He'd been the "other guy" before, but he'd never crossed that line with anyone _he_ was with. He'd had very few relationships. Deborah. Diane. Janet. Sheila. But he'd never betrayed them. His biggest fear, when being engaged to Diane, was: would he stay in love with her forever? He'd ruined his first marriage. He _was_ "Sam" after all, he wasn't exactly known for his serial monogamy and long-term relationships. It was no secret Diane could drive him nuts. He'd admitted he hadn't been the best boyfriend when he was with her the first time. He'd tried harder when he was her fiancé. What if one day, he woke up and he just… didn't love her anymore?

But here's the thing: here he was, fifteen years after meeting Diane Chambers, and he was still in love with her. Even through distance and time and having his single lifestyle back again, he was still in love with that damn Diane.

It didn't seem like this love was going to end anytime soon. Sometimes he'd catch a memory while looking at the corner of the bar where she used to read her books, or in his office an argument or moment would come flying back to him and that feeling would wash over him again.

He'd come to terms with his sex addiction. Maybe he could've been better back then if he wasn't struggling with his addiction – although, he'd never felt starved for sex when he was with Diane, she'd always been a willing participant in that area. But maybe he wouldn't have lied to her about ski weekends or flirted with other girls in front of her. Maybe if he hadn't had this issue they wouldn't have had to run into his "girls" everywhere they went, causing arguments and insecurity.

Something was changing. He'd tried to have a baby with Rebecca. He'd gotten engaged again, to Sheila. He had been the one who was cheated on. Maybe he never should've gotten involved with someone at his sex addicts group, mistake number 1. He wanted things out of his life that he hadn't found yet. But it was time. He was getting older, and moments were passing him by. He'd heard bits and pieces about her life – she'd recently been in contact with Fraiser. He'd given Sam some of the details. He knew where life had taken her in the past few years.

He headed to Cheers early one afternoon, and it hit him again, that wave of Diane – the memories he had tried so hard to avoid after she left him to write her book, why he sold the bar to the Lillian Corporation. Today it was the front steps. He'd had Diane on his mind already, and this afternoon he thought about how many times they'd gone up and down those steps together, coming in to work together after being together all night, or heading home with each other after a shift at work. It seemed like a lifetime ago. _Damnit, Sam, it's been over a decade since she worked here!_ he chided himself.

He grabbed the phone and rummaged through his little black book, looking for the number he hoped was still hers.

The phone rang. Once, twice, three times. Just when he was thinking she wouldn't pick up, there it was, her voice the same as ever.

"Hello?"

He hadn't thought through this this far. What the hell was he going to say now? Why was he calling her, anyway? What was he trying to do here?

"Hi Diane." He heard her intake of breath which seemed to mean she knew who was calling. "It's-"

"Sam. I know." He smiled. "How are you, Sam?"

"I'm… I'm doing good," he told her. It was mostly the truth. Cheers was doing well, he was healthy, he'd made some lifestyle adjustments. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well," she said softly. "It's lovely to hear from you. I assume, anyhow. Is everything alright?"

"Yes! Yeah, yeah. Everything is good. I've just been thinking about you, that's all."

"That's lovely," she said simply. "How is everyone? Carla? Woody? Norman and Clifford?"

"They're great. Everyone's still kinda the same, you know? Except we've all gotten a little older. A little wiser, too, maybe." She laughed, and Sam knew she wanted to make some kind of joke about IQs or the low level of intelligence that they collectively had to begin with, but she didn't. "Look, the reason I called is… well I don't know, exactly. I've been thinking. About you. And us. I was kind of a mess back then, Diane."

"Sam. I was kind of a mess, too. Still was, until recently. Did you know I went to see Fraiser again? Professionally, I mean?" she added.

"I went to therapy for sex addiction," he replied.

"You… you _what_?" she half gasped, half laughed. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Yeah, and it got me thinking, you know. I had an issue. I made a lot of mistakes with you. I never cheated on you-"

"I know."

He smiled at that. "I never cheated on you, but I wasn't the best boyfriend. Or fiancé. I tried harder, Diane. When we were engaged, I tried a lot harder than when we first dated. But I still… I made mistakes."

"Sam," she said softly. "I know. I know you tried harder. You were a good fiancé. You were a better fiancé than _I_ was. I was the one that ruined it."

"No, no, I don't mean –"

"You don't think I haven't thought about this before? You said 'I do,' Sam. Before that phone rang, you said 'I do.' No doubts, no hesitation. You wanted to marry me. You bought a house with me, You went through with all my wedding planning – the china, the silver, the dust ruffle. You dressed up as _Santa_ justto make me happy in our house! I was the one who wasn't a very good fiancée. I walked away. And I didn't come back in six months."

"You had to go, Diane. I knew that."

"I know," she said, choking back tears. "I know you knew that and that's why you were the better fiancé."

He chuckled a little to lighten up the moment. "But, hey, you agreed to go to Disney World. I know what _that_ took," he pointed out, and she laughed. "Anyway, hey, it's in the past. But I think of you a lot."

She agreed immediately. "I think of you, too. All the time."

"Did we make a mistake on that plane?" he asked, rubbing his temples as he thought. "Did we… give it up again, too easily?"

"Maybe we did," she said quietly. "I feel like… my life has been a mess ever since. Before that – before that I guess I always thought… maybe… maybe one day I'd finally go back and…but on that plane we left it with such finality."

"Diane," he said, unsure of where he was going with this, after all, this hadn't been his intention when he woke up this morning, or even when he picked up the phone to call her, really. "When we were engaged you know what I was the most afraid of?"

"No. What, Sam?"

"What if I ruined it? What if I wasn't capable of loving you for the rest of my life? What if that wasn't something Sam Malone was capable of doing?"

"Funny. That was my fear, too." He knew from her tone that it was a tease. But, he was sure, there was probably some truth to it.

"But you know what? Eleven years after we broke our engagement and I still _love_ you. What the hell are we doing, here? I love you and I'm not with you. I'm going to love you for the rest of my damn _life_ , that's clear by now, but I don't even get to _be_ with you. I don't even get a _chance_ at ruining it. Because ruin it, I might. But capable of being in love with one woman for the rest of my life? That I know is possible, now."

"Oh Sam," she said softly, and a million memories came back to him at once. "I know."

There was a long pause where neither of them said anything. Diane, processing his words, and Sam, realizing what he had just said and letting it sink in.

"I have a daughter, Sam," Diane spoke again.

"I know. Fraiser told me."

"She's only two."

"I know."

"When I… when I went to Fraiser, my life was a mess. That's why I asked him to see me. I needed his help, professionally. I think it helped. That was before I was a mother. Being a mother has helped me, a lot. But, I – when I found out I was pregnant, I told the father. He asked me to marry him. And I said no."

Sam couldn't help but laugh, despite the personal history she was revealing.

"What?" she asked, with a little laugh herself. He knew that she knew exactly what.

"You know what. Do you _ever_ say yes?"

She chuckled. "As I was saying," she said with a laugh, clearing her throat. "I said no. I just knew it wasn't right. It was going to be the situation I had with Frasier all over again. He left."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It was for the best. He wasn't exactly one of the great decisions I was making at the time." She sighed and added, "Sam, do you know what Sumner asked me that night when he returned, telling me about the possibility of my book being published?" Sam did know, actually, since he'd been under the pool table the whole time. Diane didn't know that, though – and after eleven years his memory _was_ kind of fuzzy on the specifics. But Diane was still Diane, and didn't wait for an answer anyhow. "He told me that I would regret this moment. When I told him I was going to marry you and I didn't care about the book. He said I would regret it. He meant not writing the book, of course. But then things changed, and I did write the book. I do regret that moment though – for leaving. I have since the minute I walked out of Cheers."

"We decided a few years ago that we should let this be," Sam reminded her.

"Yes. I know we did." She paused. "Why did we decide that?"

He laughed. "I don't know, Diane. I don't know. We had our reasons but… I haven't been settled since."

"Nor have I," she agreed. "But I have Liliana now."

"Your daughter."

"Yes. I can't… I can't make anymore brash decisions. I can't make another wrong choice."

"Do you think this is the wrong choice?" he asked quickly.

"No," she responded immediately. "But I have to think of Liliana."

"Diane, Sweetheart, I love you. I'm sure that little girl of yours is gorgeous and brilliant just like her mother. I'll be there for her. In whatever way you want me to be. I'll come to you, so you don't uproot her. I want this. You and me and your little girl. We can be a family. I'm ready for that. I really am."

"No," Diane said immediately.

"No?" Sam questioned.

"No. We'll come to you. You let me go once, Sam – for my own good. I know that, and I will always, always love you for that. You put me before yourself. Sadly enough, that moment that I left, I – I knew more than ever how much you loved me. And I really thought I was coming back. But you knew I wasn't. Didn't you? And you still let me go. You let me go and I had my 'moment in the sun,' as you put it. I had it and it's my turn to come to you. I can write anywhere. Cheers is only in Boston."

"It doesn't matter. I let it go once. Someone else can run it."

"You already gave the bar up because of me, once," she noted sadly. "Let us come to you." For the first time, he realized – this was _happening_. Could it be reaching out, a simple phone call, was all it took? "But we have to be clear about what this is. Are you sure you're ready to be a parental figure? Lily doesn't have a father figure in her life, Sam. That's what you'd become to her."

"Yes! Yes, I'm ready. I've been wanting this for years now, Diane. A family, kids. I've always wanted you. I'll accept your little girl with open arms. I won't let either of you down." He felt a sudden surge of déjà vu, twelve years after the first time he had done this over the phone. "Will you marry me?"

Diane felt the déjà vu, too. She wanted to, momentarily, tease him, wanted to play with him and say no, but she decided against it and softly said, "Yes."

Sam laughed and it seemed to be contagious as she started laughing, too. "Yes? That's one I've never heard before."

She continued to laugh, relief and happiness sweeping over her, a feeling of contentment that she hadn't felt in _years_ washing over her. "I'd say it's about time for a yes."

 _I hope you enjoyed! I don't know why I felt the need to add in the kiddo for Diane, but for some reason it felt right. Judging by how she appeared on Fraiser, she was a mess and I thought maybe the kid could get her back on the right track. Plus, all those years apart, I think it's beautiful for them to come together again as who they are now – kids and all. In my mind, I refuse to believe Sam and Diane never went this route! Whenever I watch season 5, it strikes me how much_ better _Sam is at his relationship with Diane. Way more patient, understanding, and honest (for the most part). I think they could've made it work that time around… but of course, he had to let her go. And by the time the series finale came around, I understand their reasoning behind letting them end the series apart. By that point, Cheers wasn't about them anymore, and Sam's true love was the bar. But whenever I watch her walk away and that scene of old Sam and Diane slow dancing, I cry. Because that's what they could've been. So I had to write out a way they could still end up together. Thanks for reading!_


End file.
